Superhero
by Nanaki Lioness
Summary: AU, Itachi and Sasuke gen. You don't have to live in castles or be a child - your superhero will always try to save you, Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters, items, places etc of Naruto are property of Masashi Kishimoto. These objects are used without permission for entertainment only, not for making money. No infringement is intended.

_Dedicated to Crazy PurpleSage for giving me the kick I needed to work on this and post it. Thank you!_

_**Alternative Universe**- aka the real world, not Konoha. Warnings for __**language**__ and __**smoking**__. These chapters aren't meant to be songfics, but each one will have a set of lyrics that inspired me- not something I usually do, but this time I couldn't resist :) This chapter's lyrics__ are Pink- Please Don't Leave Me. Taken in the context I was writing, they fit perfectly.  
_

_/ I don't know if I can yell any louder / how many times have I kicked you outta here? / or said something insulting? / I can be so mean when I wanna be / I am capable of really anything / I can cut you into pieces / when my heart is broken /  
_

**Superhero**

By Nanaki Lioness

**1.**

Uchiha Sasuke was a man of decisive actions and few words. Few would ever question his authority or business prowess, simply working beneath him without question and never once uttering a word of protest when things didn't quite align in the ways they would expect them to. The single person to ever once dare to ask why their boss had started to cut back on expenses within the business had received a room full of incredulous stares, muting the poor girl into a silence that lasted the rest of the week.

The tea break expenses had been the first. Small and barely noticeable to most- only to those who were relegated into making the morning refreshments and distributing them silently to the many workers, receiving a nod of thanks only sometimes as the recipients continued to click click click their keyboards in haste.

The office party had been the next casualty. Every year an all-expenses-paid Christmas party was the highlight of the workplace, but it was hampered marginally that year when the crisp, cream invitations had gone out with an extra line tagged onto the bottom- 'drink expenses not included'. No-one had been stupid enough to complain that there wouldn't be an open bar- they simply accepted they had been fortunate enough to receive one for as long as they had.

Next had been the job cuts. It was a person here, a person there- they came from areas of the business that people generally accepted as overstaffed in the first place, but when the Uchiha had sacked his own secretary and let an answering machine take over her workload people had begun to wonder what was going on. Of course, said secretary _was_ regarded as a waste of space since she spent all her time ogling her boss and chatting online, but that was beside the point. Her post hadn't been filled, which was the worrying part.

That is, until a cool Thursday morning a couple of weeks after the hasty departure of the secretary. Workers had begun to file into the building, dragging their feet and their briefcases with dreary moods to match the weather when they had laid eyes on the Uchiha's apparent new secretary. The more polite people carried on walking, eyeing the new arrival carefully out of the corner of their eye until it hurt to carry on looking. The less polite simply stopped and stared, eyes widened in confusion.

It was well known Uchiha Sasuke was a man of equal employment, but they hadn't expected the new secretary to be _male_. The ladies had been remarkably pleased to learn that fact, considering the new employee was awfully attractive with a smile that set their hearts on fire. He looked familiar to them- they couldn't put a finger on it, until Sasuke himself stepped through the sliding doors of the building clutching a paper coffee cup from a nearby chain store and bringing with him the air of thunder.

He stopped completely dead, almost as though he was a marionette that had just had his strings pulled taunt. He blinked once or twice, features slowly twisting into a look of surprise leaving him staring at the new arrival with lips shaped like a small 'o' and a haunted look in his eye. The ladies turned their attention to him before he snapped out of it, glaring at them until they scurried like frightened mice to watch from a safer distance.

"You," Sasuke eventually spoke, stepping towards the man at the desk.

The man gave him another one of his small, pleasant smiles and cocked his head to the side slightly. "Me?"

"You _asshole_!" Sasuke screeched after a second, earning the entire lobby's collective glance of surprise. "Why are you here?! Wait- _how_ did you get here, Itachi?!"

Itachi simply continued to regard him inquisitively, amusement in his eyes. "I flew here."

"Flew?"

"By plane."

"Plane?"

The smile widened slightly, lighting up Itachi's face as it did so. "Aeroplane. Airborne craft designed to carry people from different destinations. The first test flight for such a vehicle took place in 1903, conducted by the Wright brothers-"

"I know what an aeroplane is you fucking moron!" Sasuke yelled at him, turning to glare at his workforce around them once more. They had given up pretending they weren't interested, halting to stand and watch. The front door was beginning to become crowded as people stepped inside and stopped dead at the sound of their boss apparently having a mental breakdown.

"Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private?" Itachi suggested, rising to a stand. "Where is your office?"

Sasuke continued to stare at him so a nearby employee helpfully gave directions, earning a frown so harsh from Sasuke for his interference that he almost fell over in fright.

Itachi simply beckoned, leading them both in silence until they were inside Sasuke's reasonably sized office, seating himself in Sasuke's leather chair and looking at ease. Sasuke watched him from the doorway, finally entering and closing the door behind him with a click when it became apparent Itachi wasn't planning on leaving.

"I'd ask for a coffee, but apparently you sacked your secretary," Itachi spoke up, indicating the cup Sasuke was holding. "Do you have any idea how many calories are in the average chain store coffee?"

"Why are you _here_?" Sasuke asked once more as Itachi started to explore his desk, picking up items and regarding them curiously before moving to the next one. He stopped on a packet of cigarettes, picking it up and glancing up at Sasuke with an eyebrow raised.

"Do I need to lecture you on the dangers of tobacco?"

"You're a fucking hypocrite!" Sasuke argued as Itachi opened the box and swiped one, eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Ah, but I'm the older brother and you're the younger brother," Itachi explained, his tone leaving no room for complaint as he searched the younger Uchiha's desk for a lighter. "Which leads me to why I'm here. I don't suppose you have a light, do you? I had to ditch mine before getting on the plane."

Sasuke tossed the lighter from his pocket onto the desk carelessly, glaring at Itachi once more. "You abandoned us all to move to _Spain _six months ago," he bit out, the bitterness in his voice staining the air around them.

"I took a lucrative job prospect," Itachi corrected. "But we're not here to talk about me."

"You have a _tan_," Sasuke pointed out, seemingly impressed by such a small feat before he quashed it, the resistance to the sudden intrusion returning to his eyes.

Itachi chuckled at that, lighting the cigarette in his hands with a casual shrug. "Well, I've been living in a hot country and we've just had a nice summer. I'd be surprised if I hadn't."

"You have time in your _lucrative_ job to go and relax at the beach-"

"Hardly, Sasuke," Itachi attempted to interject, but Sasuke spoke over him.

"-but you didn't have the time to come and visit?" Sasuke finished, finally sitting down opposite his brother in the fawn coloured client's chair and setting the paper cup he was holding down.

"Unfortunately my job leaves me with little to no time for recreation, let alone visits to another country," Itachi sighed, looking wistful as he leant back in the chair. "I took a reprimand for taking unscheduled time off for this visit, actually."

Sasuke's hard expression melted slightly, finally giving way to a mild glance of concern. "You did?"

"Dad called," Itachi replied quietly. "He asked me to visit you."

"So you came to satisfy his ridiculous whims?"

"He tells me you're having problems," Itachi continued, ignoring the jibe. "With the business. You realise sleeping three hours a night and existing on nicotine and coffee isn't healthy, don't you?"

"There you go again, being a hypocrite," Sasuke muttered. "I know you do the same thing."

"Let me rephrase that," Itachi replied, exhaling smoke and eyeing Sasuke carefully. "There's a difference between what you do and what I do, and that's I do my job and you're doing twenty jobs. You shouldn't have sacked your secretary."

"She was a worthless waste of space taking up resources."

"An answering machine is _not_ a reliable substitute. It's going to hurt your business even more if people call and can't speak to a live person."

"What's it to do with you anyway?" Sasuke snapped, folding his arms and not meeting his brother's enquiring eye. "You deal with your business and I'll deal with mine. Now fuck off back to Spain and leave me alone."

"¿Qué te pasa?" Itachi finally spoke, tapping ash into Sasuke's glass ashtray and narrowing his eyes in concern.

"Do you expect me to understand that? Don't get cryptic with me."

"What's _wrong_?" Itachi clarified, accepting the point. "Swallow your pride, Sasuke- I'm here to help you because your business is failing."

"You can't just swoop in and save the day, Itachi. You're my brother, not a superhero."

"You thought I was a superhero when you were a kid," Itachi replied kindly, reaching over and tapping Sasuke's forehead lightly. "Forgive me for thinking I might have a chance to help you."

"I don't need help," Sasuke scowled at him, rubbing his forehead lightly. "Dad's overreacting."

"I don't believe that for a second. You've been cutting costs and laying people off- that's a sure sign things aren't going well. Let me speak with your accountant."

Sasuke glared at him resolutely, eyes hardened as he shook his head sharply. "I run this company, not you. You have no authority over me."

"Then allow me to act as your secretary," Itachi offered, giving him a firm glare that suggested he would be wise not to argue.

"What about your _real_ job? You know- the one you cared about so much you abandoned us all overnight for."

"You're still bitter about that?" Itachi sighed rhetorically, looking troubled by that fact. "It's been a great experience, Sasuke. Can't you just let it go and be happy for me?"

"What does Spain have that we don't?" Sasuke disputed, clearly unwilling to drop the topic as suggested.

"Sun," Itachi replied easily. "But to answer the real question you're attempting to attack me with, it holds the opportunity to experience another part of the world. Do you have any idea how difficult it was trying to get by on only high school knowledge of Spanish?" He tapped more ash into the glass tray, a hint of a smile on his lips. "It's amazing how quickly you learn when you realise the only phrases you can remember are are 'hello, my name is Itachi and I am twelve years old' and 'can you please tell me where the bathroom is?'"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before moving there."

"I didn't say it was negative," Itachi countered, putting the cigarette out and glancing up at Sasuke with determined eyes. "It was an enlightening experience. Look- we aren't getting anywhere, are we? Think about what I'm suggesting here. If I'm offering to be your secretary, what does that mean?"

"That you want to rescue the princess and save the day," Sasuke replied shortly, eyes flicking between Itachi and the smouldering remains of his cigarette. "I live in a house, not a castle- sorry to disappoint."

"Your hair might not be long enough to throw out the window, but I'm still willing to try and climb the building for you."

"You assume I even _need_ your help?"

"Sasuke, I'm willing to come home and bail you out," Itachi responded sharply, narrowing his eyes slightly in displeasure. "I don't expect you to be grateful because I'm aware that's going to hurt your pride, but you could at least be pleased to see me."

"Why would I? You _left_."

"Are you jealous?" Itachi asked airily, reaching out and taking Sasuke's neglected coffee in his hand. "I get to sip cocktails on the beach and you're stuck in here drinking mochafrappelattewhatevers in a dingy office. I get it."

He took a sip before Sasuke snatched it from him, slamming it back on the desk. "Get _out_ of here, Itachi."

"I was being sarcastic, but I can forgive you missing that," Itachi replied idly, standing up and regarding Sasuke with narrowed, mildly anguished eyes. "You don't want my help?"

"I thought I'd made that remarkably clear."

"You're stubborn as always. You realise that's going to be what costs you?"

"You can't fix everything you touch!" Sasuke yelled at him, pointing at the door. "Go back to your cosy little world and don't lay a hand on mine!"

Itachi stepped slowly past him, leather shoes padding softly on the worn carpeted floor as he made his way to the indicated door. He paused, laying a hand on the chipped painted doorframe as he looked over his shoulder.

"You realise you aren't the only one having issues with this meeting?" He spoke slowly, almost as though he was tasting each word before speaking it. "I wanted my first visit back to be a casual one. I didn't want to come in and attempt to walk all over you and your business, but Dad tells me he tried the gentle approach and it didn't work."

"It didn't work because I don't need help."

"I'm not like this," Itachi continued, sounding marginally hurt by his own admission. "I don't like treating you like this, but if I have to do so to get through to you, I will. I'll do anything I can, Sasuke."

"I don't like to repeat myself," Sasuke warned him. "You're not a superhero. You're an overstressed businessman with an addiction to caffeine and nicotine that can rival my own. We're the same, you and I. I don't need your help to become you because we are already so similar."

Itachi turned, regarding him with building curiosity as he leant against the white frame. "If we're so similar, why do we blend like oil and water?"

Sasuke gave him no reply, seating himself in the vacant seat Itachi had left and pointedly ignoring the presence in his doorway. Itachi watched him for a moment more before reaching into his pocket, flicking a card across the room. It landed on the shabby carpet- woollen white against besmirched brown.

"I leave tomorrow," Itachi remarked, unsurprised that the card lay ignored. "That's my number. If you change your mind, call me and I'll resign over the phone and start that hour. You don't have to pay me. If you want me to help in any other way, I'll do that too- I promise you I'll help you fix this, if you'll let me."

"How do I say 'get out' in Spanish?" Sasuke asked, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands.

"I suppose you could use 'quitarse de en medio'," Itachi replied after a moment. "Though I prefer 'te quiero'."

"They sound rather different."

Itachi gave him a tiny, tormented smile. "Perhaps you should look it up, then."

He turned and left the room, closing the wooden door behind him so lightly it barely made a sound. Sasuke watched the space where his brother had been moments earlier before turning to his telephone, picking it up and dialling an internal number.

"Is that the international affairs department? This is Uchiha Sasuke," he spoke slowly when it connected, eyes flicking to his cold coffee. He lightly touched the side, feeling very little heat in it- how long had he been wasting time with his brother?

"It is- how can I help you, Sir?"

"Do you have somebody I could speak to for a moment who can translate some Spanish for me?"

"I can do that, Sir. Would you like to e-mail me the-"

"No," Sasuke cut in. "Just tell me. What does 'te quiero' mean?"

The man on the other end of the line seemed stunned for a moment, recovering swiftly and slipping back into his professional attitude and speaking words that made Sasuke's blood run cold in his veins.

"Certainly Sir," he answered as Sasuke turned his eyes to the business card on the floor, the upturned side illegible at the distance he was at. "It means 'I love you'."

-.-.-

_/ please don't leave me / please don't leave me / I always say how I don't need you / but it's always gonna come right back to this / please, don't leave me /_

_/ I need you /_

_/ I'm sorry /_

-.-.-

_Author's Note: I know the true meaning of the lyrics, but don't take them that way- take them in a Sasuke's-an-idiot way (as usual)! I've had a rough, unrefined version of this sitting around for a while and it's thanks to a conversation with Crazy PurpleSage that I finally got around to sorting out. Thank you! Thank you all for reading as well, and I hope you're enjoying so far :)_

_I wasn't sure if I was going to leave this as a one shot, but I decided not to. I like this universe too much and I felt the need to resolve the issues presented!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

_/ stop stalling / make a name for yourself / boy you better put than pen to paper and charm your way out / if you talk you better walk you better back your shit up / with more than good hooks while you're all under the gun /_

Sasuke awoke with a start at the sound of his office door closing, startled from his position where he had been curled up against the wall on the floor. Paperwork was spread around his feet and he hastily attempted to shuffle it together, glancing up at his sudden visitor with hazy eyes.

Itachi stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms folded and feet crossed casually at his ankles. Sasuke blinked a few times, glancing at the clock on the wall to confirm what he had been thinking.

"It's three am," he finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. He coughed to clear it, eyeing the paperwork that littered the floor around him. "How did you get in?"

"I never left," Itachi shrugged simply, shrugging as though it was normal to hang around businesses he didn't work for until the early hours. "My plane leaves in four hours. Have you thought about my offer?"

"I thought I made my decision absolutely clear."

"Mm," Itachi nodded, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind him. "You told me your selfish decision fuelled by your pride. Now let's hear the _real_ answer- the one that only comes when you're asleep on your office floor at three am because you're so overwhelmed you have no choice but to stay."

"You're awfully sure of yourself," Sasuke replied crossly, gathering the paperwork together. Itachi was across the room in mere moments, kneeling down and collecting it together with him despite Sasuke's best efforts at pushing him away.

"Numbers?" Itachi commented, glancing over the papers in his hand. "Isn't this your accountant's job?"

An uneasy silence reigned, leaving Itachi to narrow his eyes sharply and prompt again.

"Don't tell me you sacked your accountant too? No wonder you're having trouble."

"He wasn't trustworthy," Sasuke argued, roughly snatching the papers from his brother's grasp. "I trust myself."

"Let me do it."

"You'll be my secretary _and_ my accountant?" Sasuke asked sceptically, picking himself back up and clenching the papers so tightly they crumpled at the edges. "You really do think you're a superhero, don't you?"

"I handle stress a lot better than you do," Itachi noted, ignoring Sasuke's offended look. "You're trying to be secretary, accountant _and_ chairman. Let me take over two thirds and we'll have a much more balanced business on our hands."

Sasuke seemed to think about it for a moment- progress, at least. Itachi waited patiently for an answer, still kneeling on the floor and glancing up at his brother with what Sasuke realised were horrifically tired eyes.

"Did you sleep?" He asked before he could stop himself. "You look terrible."

"I'll be fine." Itachi brushed the comment off, his gaze steady as Sasuke scrutinised him further before glancing away. "What do you say, Sasuke? A simple yes or no will do- if you say no I'm not going to give you any more chances."

"And if I say yes?" Sasuke murmured quietly, eyes averted to the wall, the floor, the window- anywhere but his brother's patient gaze.

"Then I'll start as soon as you tell me to."

Sasuke nodded in contemplation, passing the papers in his hands back to his brother almost sheepishly. "These are the latest figures," he spoke so quietly the words were almost lost. "You start right now."

He expected a protest- in fact, he hoped for one so he could project the anger he was feeling for accepting the help at his brother in a completely unfair way. Yet one didn't come. Itachi simply gave him a quick nod, gathering the papers and settling himself back against the wall to read them over.

"You have a desk," Sasuke pointed out as he lit a cigarette with a heavy sigh, sinking back into his chair and feeling more stressed than he had done previously. "This is my office, not yours. While you're working under me I'm going to treat you just like anybody else."

"I have a feeling you aren't going to let me smoke at that desk," Itachi replied, holding a hand out for what was presumably a cigarette without glancing up from his reading.

"No. The building is a no smoking premises."

"This room doesn't count?"

"I don't care if it does."

"Then why should I?"

Sasuke glared at him, flicking ash into the ashtray with hardened eyes. "There are company rules," he snapped. "I make the rules, therefore I can breach them."

"You should be setting an example," Itachi told him, withdrawing his hand when it became obvious his request was being ignored.

"Your start your secretarial job at eight am," Sasuke continued on sharply, ignoring the taunt. "Because you are working directly under me, you'll get breaks only when I'm free to cover you. If that means you eat at your desk and you don't smoke all day, so be it."

Itachi shrugged wordlessly, keeping his eyes on the paper in front of him. Sasuke frowned, confused why he wasn't getting the raise he was hoping from out of his brother. Uchiha Itachi was a patient man but even he had his limits- Sasuke just needed to find where the line lay.

"You finish at six," he soldiered on. "You'll dedicate three more hours to the accounting job alone and leave at nine. Otherwise you'll deal with it in the day in-between secretarial jobs. If you aren't finished, you stay here until you're done even if that means staying all night. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Itachi murmured, seemingly either not listening or genuinely _not pissed off_ about Sasuke's draconian rules. Sasuke blinked a few times, unsure of what to say to that- he'd been quite looking forward to arguing and perhaps having Itachi give his offer up and leave him in peace to save his pride, but it just hadn't happened.

"I'm not a pleasant person to work for," he prompted.

"Sometimes you aren't a pleasant person full stop," Itachi commented, finally glancing up. "I'm not going to shout at you and nor am I going to give you the satisfaction of fighting with your overbearing rules."

"I fucking hate you," Sasuke muttered, turning his attention back to his half-smoked cigarette.

"Of course you do."

"Don't patronise me you asshole. Get out of here and get on with your work."

"Didn't you say I started at eight?" Itachi noted, pulling himself to his feet.

Sasuke folded his arms across the desk, a smirk on his face. "I also said I'm not a pleasant person to work for," he reminded, causing Itachi to pause in the doorway. "I said you start now, so get to work."

Itachi simply regarded him dispassionately, giving a simple nod in response. "All right, Sasuke," he replied mildly, pulling the door open. "Whatever you wish."

-.-.-

Sasuke wasn't feeling guilty about his conduct towards his brother- if anything, he was remarkably angry with him for daring to still look completely at ease and almost _refreshed_ when Sasuke had stalked out to his desk at ten am.

"Getting on alright?" He asked, perching himself on the edge of Itachi's desk.

"Fine," Itachi replied, giving him a cursory glance before turning his attention back to the computer screen. "Were you hoping I wouldn't be?"

"You are such a prick sometimes," Sasuke muttered, folding his arms and glaring down at the floor.

"Sasuke," Itachi murmured. "Please refresh your memory regarding the legal working requirements for your staff. I believe the rule is twenty minutes break for every six hours worked?"

"I'm not paying you," Sasuke replied simply. "So technically I can do whatever I want."

"Because you're not paying me, technically _I_ can do anything I want," Itachi pointed out. "Maybe you should think about that before you continue to treat me like I'm hindering you."

"I just like watching you suffer," Sasuke replied simply, deciding brutal honestly was the best way to get his point across if he wasn't going to get a rise any other way from his far-too-patient brother.

"Is it payback?" Itachi questioned, raising an eyebrow. "For 'abandoning' you?" The scathing look he received in response told him all he needed to know. "I suspected as much. I'm not suffering, Sasuke- I'll gladly do anything to help you."

"Just get on with your work," Sasuke muttered before stalking back down the corridor, feeling a little shaken that Itachi had seen right through him without even trying. He _was_ angry about his brother's sudden departure from his life six months earlier- unbearably, unspeakably so but he also possessed Uchiha genes that kept his lips firmly sealed, slamming the door to his office in a rage.

Itachi waited for the inevitable slam before sighing heavily, laying his arms across his desk and lowering his head to them. He stayed that way for only a moment, pulling his head up and glancing back at the monitor with weary eyes. He'd never give Sasuke the satisfaction of knowing he was working on only a few hours of uncomfortable sleep, spent curled up in a corner of the office canteen after work hours the night before. Banishing all visible traces of discomfort he settled his attention back on his work. It was going to be a long day.

-.-.-

Itachi barely glanced up at the coffee Sasuke begrudgingly placed on his desk around lunchtime, only finally paying attention to the other's presence when Sasuke hovered at his side and didn't leave. Sasuke eyed him suspiciously, cocking his head to the side slightly as he observed Itachi for a moment with his briefcase in hand.

"Take five minutes," he said quietly. "I'll cover."

"A whole five minutes?" Itachi replied, pushing himself away from the desk with what Sasuke felt, with a pang of satisfaction, was a little too much haste. "Should I thank you for your generosity?"

"It will be zero minutes if you keep that attitude," Sasuke snapped at him, pulling the chair Itachi had one hand on roughly from him and throwing himself down. "Get out of here before I change my mind. I'm counting- four minutes and fifty seconds left."

Once Itachi was gone Sasuke opened up his briefcase, sliding a piece of paper from it out onto the desk and picking up a pen to scrawl a quick note on it. He hid it underneath the already present paperwork and waited for his brother to reappear, feeling slightly irked he did so with fifteen seconds spare on the clock.

"You had time for a cigarette?" He observed, the scent of smoke permeating the air as Itachi re-took his place at the desk. "Didn't you eat?"

"You and I both know five minutes is barely long enough to eat," Itachi pointed out. His hands touched the papers in front of him so Sasuke vanished without another word, leaving the other to slowly pull the new piece of paper out and regard it curiously.

It was a printout for a reservation at a nearby hotel, with a simple message scrawled on it that read 'get some decent sleep tonight'. Itachi simply folded it and put it in his pocket, pretending not to notice Sasuke peering around the door in the corridor nearby.

Sasuke was a spiteful brat sometimes but that didn't mean he didn't adore his big brother unconditionally- a fact, Itachi noted, that served his brother well when Sasuke was acting like he despised the very earth he walked in. If Itachi had ever thought his distaste was real he would never lie back and take it but he needn't have worried- the packaged sandwich that appeared on his desk shortly after simply confirmed his feeling that his brother was throwing nothing more than a glorified tantrum.

-.-.-

Only when he had stepped over the threshold of the swish hotel Sasuke had booked him into did Itachi relax. The click of the door behind him was like a switch in his mind, turning off the day's work and allowing him a few precious moments to savour the quiet room without any other thoughts invading.

They filtered through after a moment regardless, leaving him kicking off his shoes with a sigh and simply dropping down onto the edge of the bed. He was so _tired_- it had been a long time since he'd pulled an eighteen hour day, and he momentarily contemplated the fact that he'd ever had the need to at all previously. He was only twenty eight and already working himself into a stress-induced early grave.

He lit a cigarette, laughing shortly as he did so. Perhaps it would be a nicotine-induced early grave instead, though both variations were a sobering idea. It didn't stop him enjoying the sensation as he inhaled, since it was one Sasuke had been depriving him of. He lay back on the bed and simply stared at the rising smoke, trying to just stop thinking for a moment.

He couldn't. He'd spent the three hours after six accounting as requested and had found some shocking figures. Sasuke had _no idea_ what he was doing, that much was clear, though Itachi couldn't blame him. He was twenty three and in charge of a huge company bearing their family name practically overnight when their father had retired. He hadn't done so willingly, but their mother had ordered him to do so as he had been laid up in the hospital bed after experiencing a stress-related heart attack.

Itachi had flown out of the country two days later, aware he was probably walking the same path but unwilling to prevent it from happening. Work had been their father's life and now it was his- the sins of the father became the sins of the son's, after all. With him out of the picture Sasuke had been handed the torch, and he had promptly burnt himself on it. It was up to Itachi to gently pry the torch away and keep it lit while Sasuke insisted that he was fireproof.

Why had the burden fallen to his shoulders? He mentally span the question around in his mind as he finished the cigarette and forced himself off the bed to shower, despite the answer being a simple one. Their father had tried and failed with his gently-gently approach leaving Itachi the only other choice- not that he resented that, because he was more than happy to try.

By the time he had relaxed enough that he felt he could turn off and sleep it was approaching one am. He sighed and forced his eyes closed, knowing he was only making life more difficult for himself if he didn't sleep- he refused to let it be known to Sasuke but he really didn't function well lacking sleep, no matter what front he presented regarding the matter. A gentle smile tugged at his lips as he attempted to get comfortable on the hard mattress- Sasuke in his current mood would probably deprive him of sleep on purpose just to stoke a reaction from him if he ever knew.

Pride, Itachi decided as he slipped into slumber, ran through Uchiha veins as easily as blood and regularly bled over into everything they touched. That was just the way it worked.

-.-.-

Why did sleeping feel like blinking? Itachi clutched around almost blindly for the phone alarm under his pillow, clenching it tightly and forcing himself to sit up to the sound. Waking up never got any easier no matter how much he did it.

He got ready and out the hotel within ten minutes, stopping to buy breakfast on his way along with a simple black coffee- screw that calorie laden rubbish Sasuke existed on. The only thing available was croissants so croissants it was- not that he had a choice, but it was fortunate he wasn't fussy.

He savoured a cigarette on the steps of the office first, setting the still-hot coffee down next to him and running a hand through his bangs to lift them off of his face. He didn't turn at the sound of footsteps behind him, glancing over only as Sasuke seated himself down next to him.

"Morning," he greeted lightly. "Sleep well?"

"Like shit," Sasuke snorted, snatching Itachi's cigarette without any further word, inhaling once before handing it back.

"The hotel was nice," Itachi replied instead of encouraging him further. "Thank you."

"Don't get used to it. Find your own place to stay tonight."

"Sure," Itachi shrugged, flicking ash off his cigarette. "Could I request a break longer than five minutes today?"

Sasuke simply stood up and left the words hanging unanswered in the air, beckoning for Itachi to follow him to the door. The elder Uchiha did so without complaint, putting out the cigarette and entering to head straight for his desk without another word. He was technically ten minutes early but who was counting, really?

_/ just for the record the weather today / is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of / a. indifference or b. disinterest / in what the critics say / _

-.-.-

_Author's Note: Apparently the idea wouldn't leave me alone, after all. It repeatedly beat me on the head until I worked on this some more, so here we are :) Song lyrics are Panic! At The Disco- London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines. The song lyrics from chapter to chapter may vary in genre- I apologise in advance, but I listen to and am therefore influenced by a lot of different things._

_There's some more to come soon- thank you for reading and hopefully you're enjoying it! I love writing Uchiha gen :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_/ warm yourself by the fire, son / and the morning will come soon / I'll tell you stories of a better time / in a place that we once knew / before we packed our bags / and left all this behind us in the dust / we had a place that we could call home / and a life no one could touch /_

**3.**

Itachi came to a very troubling conclusion at the end of his first week. He was completely, utterly incapable of fixing the problem at hand without some serious divine intervention. No matter how many times he poured over paperwork or crunched potential numbers, it always came back in the red and he was at a loss.

Not that he had admitted it to Sasuke, of course.

Every night he found it more difficult to fall asleep- numbers haunted his dreams and taunted him when he awoke and he was developing a nasty habit of spending longer and longer at work. Eight am starts became seven and finally six, and nine at night had somehow become somewhere between eleven and twelve before Sasuke complained and made him leave- not that he could talk much since he was also running on those times, but regardless it had happened and it was futile.

It didn't stop Itachi trying, despite the added stress. He _would_ find a solution, he _would_- there was no other acceptable solution.

He took half a second to breathe and clear his thoughts before delving back into his workload. He was sitting at a desk on the second floor in the international affairs department- Sasuke's latest torture method, it seemed. A European translator had fallen sick and Sasuke's eyes had fallen immediately on his brother, declaring his excursion to Spain as 'useful after all, get upstairs and fill in', despite Itachi protesting his knowledge of other European languages was basic at best. Sasuke had handed over a laptop for the accounting work and had stated that all incoming calls would be diverted to Itachi's mobile by way of answer.

Itachi had wondered whether thanking him had been the right course of action after all, or whether he should have simply thrown the items in question back at Sasuke's face.

That led him to where he was- a laptop balanced precariously on a crowded table while he sent off e-mail after translated e-mail (just the Spanish ones, the others could wait until he'd worked out what the hell to do with them) and attempted to number crunch potential solutions for the business and answer calls on his mobile. Not the most ideal situation but he would make do, as he often did.

Not only did the worker who usually occupied his current desk have _so much junk_ in his workspace that Itachi could barely see the wood beneath, he also had seemingly been slacking and of course it was now Itachi's job to pick it up. He'd taken a break from it and moved to the accounting work once more, though mostly because he was beginning to run out of Spanish e-mails.

"It's midday. You can go and take a break if you want."

Itachi hadn't even noticed Sasuke enter and he didn't acknowledge him by looking- he simply shook his head, eyes glued to the laptop. Sasuke's frown deepened- it went unnoticed- and he sat against the nearby windowsill and observed Itachi for a moment before speaking again.

"At least take five minutes."

"Isn't five minutes all I get normally?" Itachi shot back before scolding himself for finally rising to Sasuke's bait, albeit mildly. Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't gloat or respond negatively- he simply looked a little concerned and said nothing more.

He stayed, watching Itachi like a silent guard dog until the elder Uchiha finally fixed a mildly irritated gaze up to him. "I don't need an audience," he remarked. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"Yes," Sasuke nodded. "I'm here to cover you, so stop being difficult. Go and smoke or something."

"I don't have time. I have work to do, Sasuke- perhaps you could leave me be?"

"Perhaps you should just go smoke like I'm telling you to and let me take over for a little."

Itachi didn't have anything nice to say so he bit his tongue and said nothing at all, typing on the laptop that was swiftly removed from under him and snapped closed. He scowled in response, unimpressed when Sasuke simply indicated the door with one pointing finger and shooed him.

"Do you want this to work?" Itachi asked him after a tense moment. "Because if you insist on wasting my time it won't."

"I'm asking you to take a break so you work more productively, not stop caring about it altogether," Sasuke pointed out.

"Since when do you care about giving me breaks?" Itachi couldn't resist noting, succeeding in removing the laptop from Sasuke's clutches in the stunned moments that followed. He hated to bring it up a second time, seeing Sasuke's eyes practically light up in with the knowledge.

"So that _does _annoy you," Sasuke replied with a tiny, confident smirk when he had recovered from the rebuttal.

"Just because I don't yell at you doesn't mean your petty revenge tactics don't irritate me," Itachi pointed out, careful to keep his voice level. It ended up sounding forced which annoyed him more than he wished it would. "I have a much better rein on my temper than you do, evidently."

"You're pretty fucking snappy right now," Sasuke muttered before indicating the door again. "You're wasting time arguing with me about it- now get out of here and don't come back until half twelve."

They were interrupted by Itachi's mobile ringing so he answered it with as much patience as he could muster- which since he was Uchiha Itachi was an inordinate amount. Sasuke didn't interfere- business was business, after all- but he retracted his offer by leaving the room. He'd simply slip back in later and leave his brother a coffee and a sandwich- if he wouldn't leave the desk for lunch, then lunch would come to him.

-.-.-

Sasuke was less than impressed when he made his way back up to the international affairs department at ten past four to find his brother missing from the room he was supposed to be working in. He wasn't supposed to leave his post without consent from Sasuke and yet he had said nothing.

If Sasuke was a reasonable man he would accept that he couldn't have gone far and would likely be back soon and leave it at that. Unfortunately, Sasuke was _not_ a reasonable man, especially when it came to his brother.

"Itachi?" He spoke sharply into his mobile phone as soon as it connected. "Where are you?"

"Outside," came the equally brisk answer before Sasuke was met with a dial tone, leaving him taken aback for a moment before making his way downstairs and out to the steps of the building.

Itachi was smoking a cigarette with the laptop on the steps next to him, looking deep in thought about something. He glanced up when Sasuke's shadow fell over him, fixing him with a question instead of a greeting.

"I don't suppose you can speak French, can you?"

"No," Sasuke replied, sitting down next to him. "That's why I got you to cover the guy, not me."

"I can't speak French either. How am I supposed to translate something I don't know myself?"

"Babelfish?" Sasuke shrugged. Apparently Itachi didn't appreciate the joke, turning back to his laptop without even an amused smile. "So why are you out here? You know you're supposed to get consent."

"Consent," Itachi laughed slightly, fixing his eyes to the pavement. "Right."

"You said you didn't have a problem with my rules," Sasuke pointed out, picking up his slightly bitter tone immediately.

"I can't translate anything else and since both the laptop and mobile phone are moveable, I took it on myself to move with them out here," Itachi answered instead of arguing the point.

"So you gave yourself a smoke break?"

"I suppose," Itachi replied, exhaling smoke wearily and glancing up at the sky. "It's nicer out here anyway and I'm still doing my work, so if you have a problem with it I'd like to know why."

"I told you when you started you'd get breaks when I gave them."

"I'm not taking a break- I still have my work right here." He flicked ash off the end of the cigarette, eyes unimpressed. "You're my brother, not a god. Stop talking like one."

"I'm your _boss_."

"No," Itachi disagreed. "You're a bitter child."

Sasuke opened and closed his mouth to the retort, unsure of how to answer it. He didn't have to, eyes falling on a familiar car pulling up on the street next to them. Itachi had spotted it too, frowning and turning his attention back to the laptop.

"I don't have time for this," he muttered as their father stepped out of the car.

Uchiha Fugaku was the type of man who would strike fear into the hearts of most people, but his sons knew better than to be frightened of him. Besides, if either were ever asked to be candid for a moment and explain _why_ they weren't frightened, both would likely answer their most recent reason for not being so- that it was difficult to be scared of someone they had seen weak and fragile, laid up in a hospital bed.

"My eldest comes back into the country and doesn't even come to visit," he said disapprovingly once he was in front of his sons. "Itachi. Sasuke."

"Dad," Sasuke replied, and Itachi gave him a nod as he politely put his cigarette out.

"Sasuke working you hard, eh?" Fugaku chuckled, crouching down in front of Itachi to try and gain his eye. "Come for coffee, son."

"He has too much work to do."

"I have too much work to do."

The brothers had spoken in unison, sharing a glance before Itachi looked straight back at his laptop. Fugaku frowned, turning to Sasuke.

"Give the poor man a break," he requested sharply. Sasuke simply held his hands up in resignation and stood, muttering something as he reached out and snatched the laptop from Itachi. He swiped his brother's phone from its spot on the pavement as well and retreated into the building, leaving Itachi alone with their father on the step.

"You look like you need a break," Fugaku noted quietly, holding a hand down to his son. Itachi looked at it before pulling himself to a stand without the aid, finally meeting his father's eye.

"Sasuke is _useless_," he lamented quietly.

Fugaku looked at him grimly, giving him a nod. "I know," he answered. "I'm here to find out just how terrible he is."

-.-.-

Itachi found himself at a nearby street cafe, sharing a simple coffee with his father as they watched the busy people pass them by. Ten years ago Itachi would have been elated to share such an experience, revelling in the relaxation that came with such a nice excursion with family. Five years ago he'd have said it was a waste of time but still done it and secretly enjoyed it. Six months ago he'd have clung to every moment, thankful to still have his father present to do it with.

Right then, Itachi wanted nothing more than to just take his leave and vanish. A vast contrast, he realised with a tiny sigh as he sipped his coffee and simply observed his aging father. They were close- as close as Uchihas got without slipping into the border of being a touchy-feeling 'typical' family, anyway. A handshake, a pat on the shoulder, _maybe_ a quick embrace in extreme circumstances- unspoken rules that only Sasuke broke sometimes, but he was the youngest so that was okay. Exceptions, exceptions.

They did _not_, Itachi told himself, sit over coffee and talk about how they felt. Only Sasuke might get away with that, but Itachi certainly couldn't. His father was eyeing him proudly, waiting for some positive news he would be unable to give in regards to the business that had been his livelihood for decades.

"So how is Sasuke treating you?"

Itachi would have laughed at the question had he not felt that would be rude. Instead he put his coffee down and looked his father straight in the eye. The elder man didn't flinch- not that Itachi expected he would.

"It's Sasuke," he spoke evenly. "He's doing everything to try and hold power over me."

"I hope you're keeping him in line."

"Of course," Itachi affirmed, despite knowing in reality he was doing no such thing. He possessed zero assertiveness over his brother right then and zero incentive to care, speaking again to change the topic. "He sacked his accountant."

"Silly boy," Fugaku muttered. "Did you employ a new one?"

"I'm doing it myself. The numbers are shocking."

Fugaku simply nodded once and picked up his coffee, satisfied with the answer. Itachi wondered for just a moment if the people around him _did_ view him as some kind of superhero that was capable of fixing every problem that presented itself, resisting the urge to light a cigarette for his father's sake.

"And how have you been, son?"

Itachi opened his mouth to reply but promptly closed it again when he realised the answer wasn't going to be the upbeat, positive one his father had probably been hoping for. How did he formulate how he was feeling into one easy sentence anyway, and did he even want to?

"Alright," he eventually settled for before changing the subject back to his brother. "Sasuke is still upset about me leaving, you know."

"You did the right thing, son. I appreciate you flying back and putting everything on hold for this though. No-one else could handle it as well as you."

Itachi refrained from answering, averting his eyes.

"So do you think you have a solution?" Fugaku continued as he took a sip of his coffee. "You haven't kept me up to date, have you?"

"Sorry," Itachi remarked automatically. "And no, I haven't yet. The accounts really are terrible and it's taking a while for me to make sense of it all."

It was a lie- he'd made sense of it quickly and efficiently, as always. Fortunately his father didn't see through him and simply nodded sharply.

"I'm glad you're back, son," he praised gently. "With you on board things should go back to normal soon."

Itachi tightened his hold on the handle of his coffee mug, letting it go after a tense moment as he averted his eyes to the table in front of them. "I can't cope," he admitted softly, not risking a glance up to his father with the words.

"Of course you can," Fugaku responded, sounding bemused. Itachi finally glanced up to meet his eye, dropping the gaze when he realised his father had simply brushed the comment aside. His eyes reflected only mirth at such an _absurd_ statement, and not the concern Itachi had been hoping would lead to advice. "You're my genius son. You'll find the answer."

"Of course," Itachi responded, his voice slightly hollow as he pushed aside the coffee he suddenly didn't care for. "I'm just worrying about nothing."

-.-.-

Sasuke noticed right away how subdued his brother was when he returned but said nothing of it, letting him slink back to his usual desk instead of sending him back to the international affairs department. Itachi had made it clear he couldn't do anything else there, even if he had seemed a little put out that Sasuke was withdrawing him from the post.

As it approached eight pm Sasuke finally had enough of brooding about his brother, leaving his office and heading out to Itachi's desk. He was simply staring into space, face resting against his palm with one elbow on the desk as he blinked slowly and carefully, almost like he was attempting not to fall asleep.

Well, Sasuke reasoned, that was probably true. He'd shown up before even Sasuke that morning, simply waiting wordlessly on the step outside to be let in. Sasuke had said nothing but then again, he never did. He perched himself on the edge of the desk, deciding now was the moment to change that.

"Stop slacking," he snapped sharply. "You should be working."

Of course, if he could just close his inner-Uchiha in a box for five minutes to get what he wanted to say across without sounding condescending, then that would be grand.

"Shouldn't you, too?" Itachi threw back, slowly slanting his eyes in Sasuke's direction. "Since you're here though, cover for me."

"I don't recall _you_ being the boss," Sasuke protested as Itachi stood. "You've got another hour and then you can go home."

"I can't concentrate," Itachi shrugged, already pulling a cigarette from his pocket as he headed to the door. Sasuke opened his mouth to shout something vicious but closed it in time, silencing himself. He wasn't stupid- that admission hadn't come easily.

"Five minutes," he called instead. Itachi didn't acknowledge he had spoken but the words rang through the lobby loud and clear, leaving Sasuke to watch the sliding doors open and close in mild concern. He momentarily wondered about following- he was supposed to be covering but a glance at the computer told him Itachi was accounting now, and had made it clear Sasuke was never to touch the accounts ever again. He narrowed his eyes, still smarting from the observation even though Itachi hadn't been unkind about it.

He stayed where he was, pride winning over. He'd go out after five minutes if Itachi wasn't back, he told himself, knowing he would be. He wasn't disappointed- Itachi was back in four, seating himself at the desk and looking a little bit shaken, which was not what Sasuke was expecting.

Sasuke eyed him closely as he turned back to the computer screen, eyes falling to his brother's hands. The right one was sporting what looked awfully like bite marks, and he couldn't help but point to it, confused. He couldn't articulate a sentence about it though, not surprised when Itachi removed the offending hand under the desk and glared until Sasuke slipped away and left him alone.

Itachi had no intentions of admitting his break had been spent with him alternating between putting the much-needed cigarette into his mouth and his hand, biting his clenched fist in order to distract the tears that wanted to fall. Superheroes didn't cry, he had told himself in a mantra. Superheroes did _not_ cry.

-.-.-

_/ don't hold me up now / I can stand my own ground / I don't need your help now / you will let me down, down /_

_/ down /_

-.-.-

_Author's Notes: Thank you for reading :) The song this time is Rise Against- Prayer Of The Refugee. I hope you're enjoying it so far!_


	4. Chapter 4

_/ you took for granted all the times I / never let you down / you stumbled in and bumped your head / if not for me then you'd be dead / I picked you up and put you back / on solid ground /_

**4.**

Sasuke was the one who found himself sharing coffee with his father the following afternoon. He had protested- oh yes, he had protested loud enough for occupants of the lobby to turn and glance in concern. He was the chairman after all! It wasn't good practise to walk out and leave the business unattended.

Fugaku had patiently pointed out the very person _more_ equipped to deal with handling the business for an hour was sitting at a desk a few paces away, sipping coffee and pretending not to be smirking at their conversation. Sasuke had snatched said coffee off of his brother and demanded him into his own office before sulkily following his father to the same cafe he had gone to with Itachi.

"Sasuke," Fugaku said slowly once they'd been sitting in silence for five minutes. "Talk to me, son."

"Are you and Itachi trying to make me feel completely ineffective?" Sasuke bit back sharply. "I'm fed up with your interference, both of you."

"I've said nothing," Fugaku argued evenly. "I'm sorry your brother is..." He tailed off, unwilling to say 'better than you' because he wasn't a cruel man. Sasuke sensed it however, his face darkening further.

"I've been trying," he snapped.

"I know, Sasuke. We both know that. Your brother wasn't impolite yesterday, even though I know you're working him hard."

"Of course he wasn't impolite," Sasuke muttered, pulling his cigarettes from his pocket. "He's _Itachi_. The day he loses his temper is the day hell freezes over."

Fugaku chuckled and pried the box from his youngest son's hand. "You know better than to light those around me, Sasuke."

Sasuke let him take them, feeling momentarily five years old again and guilty of sneaking cookies from the jar on the windowsill. They'd never believed he'd been taking them for his adored older brother, too- Sasuke idly wondered if they'd worked it out when he'd grown with distaste for sweet things.

"Your brother is a very patient man, yes," Fugaku agreed with a nod. "But even he has limits, Sasuke. You should treat him better."

"He abandoned us."

"He mentioned some bitterness regarding that," Fugaku sighed, leaning back in the flimsy metal chair. Sasuke regarded him for a moment- dressed in a suit without a tie and without the stress of a corporate business on his shoulders his father looked younger and healthier than he'd ever done. For just a brief second Sasuke let himself think that just maybe they held some semblance of a normal family after all.

"Of course I'm bitter," he replied shortly when he was done with the reverie.

"Why?"

"Because he left."

"Because he left and he's your brother."

"That too."

"Sasuke," Fugaku breathed, pulling himself forward until he was leaning across the table, lowering his voice. "Itachi... Well, he's different from you and I, son."

"Special?" Sasuke spat, glaring at the floor and folding his arms.

"I wasn't going to say that," Fugaku disagreed. "I was going to say headstrong. That position in Spain was advantageous and I think he was right to take it. He's managed to get some savings behind him despite the economy and he got to experience another country and its culture."

"Is that good?"

"Is that bad?"

"I suppose not," Sasuke muttered, a hint of jealously flickering through him. "If it was so good, why come back?"

"You needed him. He's always been there for you Sasuke- you know that."

"But we're not kids anymore!" Sasuke supplied, clearly frustrated. "I don't understand why it matters."

"You do understand," Fugaku disagreed, and no more was said.

"Is he fixing it?" Sasuke eventually muttered as he finished the coffee- he'd never admit it but he was thankful for the break, and wasn't really looking forward to going back to work.

"He is. He looked a little tired this morning though- what hours are you having him work?"

"He's just making it up as he goes along," Sasuke sighed. "He turns up sometimes before even I do."

"Well, I'm sure it's no concern," Fugaku remarked, standing up and indicating for Sasuke to do the same. "Your brother is good with stress and has the patience of a thousand saints. I'm sure he'll manage the extra workload just fine."

-.-.-

Itachi had already made his opinion on the extra workload very clear to his father- had he been able to hear their conversation, it might have tempted him to bang his head against the wall in pure frustration. Unfortunately for the man with 'the patience of a thousand saints', he wasn't the type of person who made an outward display of his emotions so he had the added agitation of attempting to deal with how he was feeling without showing it.

Outwardly, he was calmly reading some papers at Sasuke's desk. Inwardly, he was attempting to distract himself from the idea of shredding said papers into a million tiny pieces and then sleeping for a week.

No matter how many times he went over the papers in front of him, the answer was the same every time- he had arrived too late and soon, they would be out of time. Even though he had no way of knowing what was happening until Fugaku had called him and asked if he had any holiday leave he could use to visit (which he had lied and said yes to the moment the name 'Sasuke' came up), he still felt guilt eat at him.

Sasuke was his little brother and so far, Itachi had never once let him down. From clambering the neighbour's fence to retrieve a stray toy to having 'words' with someone who dared bully him in school, Itachi had been there at every step and when Sasuke fell, he picked him up and put him right again. It was his duty and he had no intentions of stopping now.

That didn't mean he had a clue what to do, because he didn't. His father had been no help and he refused to involve Sasuke right then, so that left him... Where?

He sighed, glancing up at the ceiling and feeling mildly disappointed that it held no answers. It left him sitting at Sasuke's desk feeling unproductive at best and utterly useless at worst, unable to concentrate and trying to bite down the overwhelming feeling that it didn't matter if he did or didn't. He needed to get away and reset his focus, even if it meant facing Sasuke's wrath to get... Well, he hated to use the word 'permission' but that was essentially what it was. He would have laughed at the situation and its absurdity had it not been so serious.

When Sasuke arrived back twenty minutes later and stormed into the office like an incensed hurricane, Itachi simply met his eye calmly.

"I need to take a break."

"Are you fucking serious?" Sasuke snapped, indicating with one agitated hand for him to get out of his chair. Itachi didn't move, shaking his head slowly to indicate that he was, indeed, serious.

"Five minutes, Sasuke."

"I thought it was clear I meant no."

"Two minutes, then."

"Do I need to say no in Spanish to get my point across?"

"It's the same word," Itachi pointed out placidly, never once breaking their gaze.

"Why do you want a break?" Sasuke finally asked. "It's unlike you to ask. Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing happened." Literally, he thought dismally. No amazing revelations had revealed themselves, which was the problem.

"So why the break?"

"Do things have to be complicated?" Itachi countered. He had no intention of telling the truth and didn't want to have any reasonable excuse he could think of shot down- he was likely to lose his temper, which just wouldn't do. "I'd just like five minutes."

"If you want to help me then get to work and do so- don't waste my time!"

Itachi simply gave him a single nod before rising and making his way from the room, closing the door hard enough to pass as slamming it. Sasuke didn't usually feel guilty when he got harsh with his brother, but the action left him frowning in quiet contemplation.

-.-.-

Quiet contemplation when considered by an Uchiha could lead to disaster- especially when said Uchiha was Sasuke. Unequipped with tact, a decent set of morals or empathy meant he generally made bad decisions such as attempting to do more things than he could manage with a failing business, or deciding an answer phone made a decent secretary.

The bad decision he was currently attempting to execute was, fortunately, not very well received when the recipient was his sibling. It was six pm, an hour after Sasuke had returned from his excursion with their father. Itachi was accounting at his desk, revelling in the silence of the lobby as he was attempting to ignore a rather pressing headache born of stress and fatigue- the office workers had vacated the building, leaving only the two brothers to continue working into the night.

Itachi was rather hoping Sasuke would leave him alone to get on in silence since he had been refused the break he'd wanted to reset his attention, but it seemed his brother had other plans.

"Just come," Sasuke snapped when Itachi showed no signs of agreeing the first time he requested.

"Can't we talk here?"

"It's important."

"That doesn't explain why I have to leave my desk."

Sasuke simply growled and hovered until Itachi exhaled wearily and got up to follow his brother, frowning in confusion as he led them towards one of the lobby elevators.

"Where are we going?" He asked as Sasuke jabbed the button sharply to call the elevator to them.

"Somewhere more comfortable than my office," Sasuke replied breezily, setting off alarm bells in Itachi's head.

"Your office is fine," he attempted to protest as the elevator arrived on their floor, the sliding doors whooshing open with an electronic 'doors opening' warning from a tinny speaker. Sasuke stepped inside and beckoned to Itachi, who looked a little uneasy before getting in as well.

"You don't like elevators much, do you?" Sasuke noted once they were ascending.

"I'm not a fan," Itachi agreed, leaning back against the arm rail as his dark eyes scanned the small space edgily. "I usually take the stairs if I can."

"That's because you're claustrophobic, right?"

Before Itachi could recover from his stunned silence to reply Sasuke reached out and jammed a finger on the stop button repeatedly, causing the elevator to grind to a halt. Itachi glared at him, eyes widening slowly as he realised he had been cornered.

"What the hell are you doing?" He finally demanded, unable to think of anything else to say as he registered what had just happened.

"We're going to talk," Sasuke declared, leaning against the opposite wall to Itachi. "I knew you wouldn't talk under normal circumstances-"

"This is _insane_," Itachi hissed at him, cutting in sharply. "Sasuke- you can't use this kind of thing against me!"

"I just did."

Sasuke stood in front of the panel of buttons just in case Itachi got any ideas about attempting to set the elevator going once more, folding his arms and glaring ice across the boxy space. "Talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

To Itachi's credit despite the steadily rising panic in his mind, he wasn't showing it. He stood completely still, leaning back against the rail and gripping it tightly while attempting to rationalise in his mind that things really would be alright.

Unfortunately for him the human body could be either infuriating or amazing, depending on the situation. The former rang true when Sasuke, who was a little annoyed he wasn't yet getting the reaction he was seeking, slammed a hand into the side of the elevator and made Itachi jump so harshly he yelped and gripped the rail so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Better," Sasuke nodded, looking satisfied.

"Any particular reason you're being so malicious?" Itachi demanded, cursing his voice for sounding so tight. He was breathing heavily and he felt unsteady on his feet, recognising the mild symptoms of a panic attack building. Recognising it wasn't enough to stave it much to his dismay as he swallowed a few times and attempted to back up further into the wall. His back met with the cool metal side almost immediately, leaving him to do the next best thing- slink into the corner.

"You're spiteful," he snapped at Sasuke, who was looking far too pleased with himself for his clever thinking. "And bitter. What are you trying to achieve? I'm trying to _help_ you!"

"I'm aware," Sasuke replied coolly. If his brother exhibiting signs of terror in front of him was upsetting him, he didn't show it. "So tell me why you're doing it. Dad tried to insinuate it's because you _love_ me, but look at me. How can you?"

"Right now I'm having difficulty," Itachi responded, his voice strained. "I'll dig deep though."

"You had the _perfect_ little life in Spain!" Sasuke finally snapped at him, throwing his arms up in frustration and confusion. "You flew out of the country _two fucking days_ after Dad had a heart attack and left Mum and I to cope by ourselves! You had me grow up learning that if I had problems, _you fixed them_, and then you _abandoned me_ when I needed you the most!"

"Am I supposed to be able to talk to you about something so important right now?!" Itachi yelled back at him, sinking to his knees and shaking like a leaf despite his best efforts not to. He swallowed a few times and tried to calm his racing heart, squeezing his eyes shut with a tiny, barely suppressed whimper.

"Don't have a panic attack on me," Sasuke uttered, taking the couple of steps briskly across the small space and kneeling down next to Itachi, laying one hand on his shoulder. He recoiled instantly at the shaking, muttering a curse and pulling himself to his feet and randomly hitting buttons on the keypad to get the elevator moving once more.

Nothing happened. He cursed again more vividly and slammed an open palm into the alarm button, glancing back round to his sibling. He was curled up, breathing perceptively strained and gasping lightly as he attempted to maintain control.

"It's not so bad," Sasuke remarked nonchalantly in an attempt to placate him. "At least you're not alone, right?"

"I'd rather be alone," Itachi snapped at him, pulling his head up and giving Sasuke the most vulnerable, anguished look the younger Uchiha had ever seen on his face. If the words spoken didn't hurt him, the expression certainly did.

"It's not that small in here!" He tried again, his tone rough and forceful. He always projected anger in helpless situations- just like his anger at his brother for leaving. "Pull yourself together."

"Trying," Itachi murmured, but he didn't move from his curled up position on the floor.

"No, you're whimpering like a girl. Get up."

Itachi disobeyed the command not because he was attempting to be defiant, but because he didn't trust himself to stand. Instead he simply attempted to smother anything verbal and concentrated on trying to breathe easier, eyes flickering with anger when Sasuke knelt back by his side.

"Go away," Itachi muttered to him. It was one thing to be acting in his current manner but another entirely for Sasuke to witness it in detail. "I'll get over it."

Sasuke didn't argue- for once. He simply stood and made his way to the other corner, watching Itachi with unreadable eyes as he curled up tighter and shook visibly. His voice apparently had enough of being smothered as a cry wrenched itself from his throat, turning into hitched breaths that sounded suspiciously like sobbing. Whatever it was, Itachi reined it into silence almost immediately, leaving Sasuke thankful.

The guilt was eating him alive and he wished he had something comforting to say, but how could he? He had _caused_ the current situation- how could he then apologise? He'd known his brother's phobia and he had deliberately exploited it. The word 'sorry' would have been hollow and insulting.

"I just wanted answers," he spoke softly once Itachi seemed to be breathing a little better.

"You could have asked civilly," Itachi pointed out as he finally opened his eyes and looked across at his brother, pulling himself up partially to do so.

"You wouldn't have told me."

"I would have told you I didn't hurt you on purpose."

"I'm not interested in that. I just care that you did."

"Thank you for being honest," Itachi replied after a pause. "If you'd have asked me to stay, I would have."

Sasuke laughed incredulously, leaning back against the cool metal and narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Like hell you would."

"I gave the job up for you," Itachi pointed out. "Why is the idea I wouldn't take it in the first place such a hard one to believe?"

They fell silent- Sasuke couldn't argue such a logical point, and Itachi had no need to continue defending his decision.

"I'm sorry."

Sometimes, Sasuke _really_ wanted to wring the patience out of his older brother. He was kind, understanding, tolerant and the nicest person anyone could meet which made despising him so difficult for the younger Uchiha. He was even harder to hate when he was giving apologies while curled up in the corner of an elevator, deliberately playing down the clutches of a panic attack Sasuke himself had induced in order to still appear strong.

"Why the fuck are _you_ apologising?" He snapped, but he didn't offer one of his own in response. He knew he should, but he kept his lips sealed regardless. Itachi, being who he was, didn't seem to expect one.

"I left when you needed me. I'm sorry."

"Weren't _you_ hurting?" Sasuke asked instead of continuing that line of conversation.

"Of course."

"Didn't leaving make it harder to deal with?" Sasuke asked, leaving the 'it' unexplained. As with all things unpleasant, he refused to acknowledge what the word was a placeholder for. "Starting a new job in a foreign country where you don't speak the language?"

"It was a nice distraction."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the short, to the point tone his brother was taking with him. It reminded him of being teenagers again- Itachi, the ever-calm one who didn't seem to go through any hormonal changes in his formative years and Sasuke, the child who took on enough tantrums for the both of them combined. Sasuke would rage, Itachi would give a one line response, and they would be stuck in a deadlock. History was in danger of repeating itself now years on, and Sasuke felt he had to make a move to stop it.

"Would you kill me if I tried to smoke in here?"

"Yes," Itachi responded immediately. "I'm having enough problems breathing as it is."

Regardless of his words he seemed to have calmed down a lot, sitting with his back up against the side of the elevator and his knees pulled tightly up to his chest. He was still pale and clearly uncomfortable with the situation, but he was no longer scaring Sasuke into believing he might pass out from hyperventilation.

"You know this is the longest break I've ever had since I started working here?" Itachi pointed out when they'd been sitting in silence for a few minutes, his voice calmer and mostly back to normal.

Sasuke pursued his lips sulkily and stared up at the light on the ceiling, aware his sibling was trying to lighten the mood a little and feeling put out. Itachi was the one the mood needed to be lightened _for_- why was _he_ attempting it?!

"You got the break you requested earlier then," he answered, a tiny smile quirking the corners of his mouth.

"If you don't let me go and smoke after this I'm walking out, you hear me?" Itachi responded, a hint of amusement in his tone. Sasuke welcomed hearing it, though he wouldn't admit that. The words held no threat but even if they had have done, he had no intention of denying him.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "I'm sure that will be fine."

-.-.-

_/ if I go crazy then will you still call me superman? / if I'm alive and well will you still be there holding my hand? /_

-.-.-

_Author's Note: I had an anon review that asked about the timeline, so I will reply here :) Sasuke has had the business six months, but he took over the traditions of the business such as the office party mentioned. The timeline is that Sasuke took over in September, and it's currently February. Because he was so completely, royally clueless he screwed things up quickly and horribly. I hope that explains it a little better, I tend to forget to add the smaller things like this sometimes because the opportunity doesn't present itself :)_

_Thank you for reading! Lyrics are 3 Doors Down- Kryptonite this time._


	5. Chapter 5

_/ I'm not a superhero / I'm sorry I couldn't save the day / believe me when I say I'm / sorry I couldn't wear your halo /_

**5.**

The next few days were tense.

Tense was an understatement in fact- if any employee who happened to stop by the lobby at three in the afternoon on a particular cloudy Tuesday was asked to describe the atmosphere they had encountered, they would have said it was nothing short of tempestuous. That had been the point the two brothers had stood in the lobby and whisper-screamed at each other about something- who only knew what? A few people with better hearing had caught something about breaks and time spent working.

The fight had been initiated by Itachi- a rarity that both brothers knew showed a rather prominent crack in his dispassionate appearance. Sasuke had certainly not wasted any time in biting back- it was something he'd practically been craving since his brother flew back into his life, after all.

Sasuke had, if possible, become even harsher on Itachi since 'the elevator incident'- Sasuke's own mental name for it, though he guessed Itachi probably had some more vivid terms in his mind for the whole expedition. It had taken two hours for them to be released- two hours spent glaring across to one another as Sasuke tried not to let guilt eat him _too_ much and Itachi jumped and nearly hyperventilated at the smallest sound.

Sasuke dealt with guilt terribly, and it showed. As their father had pointed out even the most patient of people had a limit, and the younger Uchiha's attitude had finally found his brother's. He'd extended Itachi's hours- not that it made much difference since Itachi was already working them, but Sasuke felt a little better putting it across officially to prevent him changing his mind. Itachi hadn't made any complaints about that, but when Sasuke had attempted to cull his single five minute break in a day he had finally lost his temper.

Somewhere buried in the recesses of his mind, Sasuke knew his plan was to break his sibling. Itachi had hurt him, and he wanted to hurt back so he was employing every method he could think of to do it. As Itachi had looked one hair away from pinning him to the wall during their fight, all he could do was feel just a little self-satisfied that he'd elicited such a reaction.

Buried even deeper than that was the realisation that he was the world's biggest asshole for it, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Sometimes late at night when he was unable to sleep, he wished that he did.

Some observant people had wondered why Sasuke's elder brother had suddenly arrived on the scene and correctly put it down to problems within the business. The 'rumour' had gained speed as it spread from department to tearoom and Sasuke's complete disregard for attempting to deny it had only fuelled the fire. Eventually it had prompted a blanket e-mail from Itachi that neatly explained that rumours were best left to school playgrounds. He had signed it with his name, which was his introduction to most of the working force who knew him simply as 'Sasuke's brother'.

All it did for Sasuke was reinforce his own incapability, making him angrier and leaving him taking said anger out on Itachi. It was a vicious cycle he wanted to break, but he felt he'd buried himself too deeply to do so.

He snapped out of his thoughts as the door to his office opened, admitting Itachi to the doorway. They hadn't spoken since their fight the day before- a simple nod of acknowledgement outside the building that morning before they'd come in, and not even a glance when Sasuke had gone out at midday to give the five minute break Itachi had successfully managed to keep. Because really, Sasuke didn't give a shit about the break in question- he was just fishing for reactions.

"Cover for a minute," Itachi spoke. It wasn't a question or a demand- it was a simple statement.

"Shouldn't that be a question?"

"No," Itachi disagreed. "It's a warning that if you don't go and cover, you could miss potential calls."

He pulled the door shut behind him, leaving Sasuke to curse and sulk for a few moments before finally getting up to do as requested. He wasn't going to miss business calls because his brother was attempting to manipulate him, leaving him to seat himself at Itachi's desk and glare across the lobby at anyone who dared look his way.

Itachi reappeared only a couple of minutes or so later, indicating for Sasuke to move while giving a single nod of thanks.

"Explain," was all Sasuke said as he stood and stepped aside.

"For heaven's sake, Sasuke," Itachi snapped quietly at him as he re-seated himself. "Let it go."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth with every intention of letting his brother know exactly what he thought of his attitude, but a quick observation of Itachi kept him silent for the moment. He was paler than normal and his skin had an unhealthy sheen to it, leaving him looking tired and unwell.

"Are you sick?" Sasuke asked after a moment, unsure of what to do with the new development.

"I'll live," Itachi shrugged, putting a bottle of water Sasuke hadn't noticed he'd been carrying on the desk. The reason for his excursion had been revealed, at least.

Sasuke fought for a moment about the best course of action. He'd never admit it but he needed Itachi, so sending him away wasn't an issue. However keeping him at work when he clearly wasn't up to it wasn't very fair.

He came to his conclusion rapidly- he wasn't a fair man, and he didn't have any intention of starting to be one right then. He said no more and simply left Itachi alone, justifying it by his brother's own admission that he would be fine despite knowing it was a blatant lie.

Unfortunately for him, when he stepped out into the lobby an hour or so later to surreptitiously check on his sibling, he realised Itachi wasn't sitting at the desk. His heart leapt into his throat as he locked eyes with his father, who simply beckoned with one menacing finger.

Sasuke told himself he was too old to be frightened of his father's wrath so he walked straight over, sat on the edge of the desk and waited for Fugaku to speak.

"Your brother called me."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence to Sasuke. Itachi was not someone who made a theatrical production of how he was feeling, so the idea he'd had to call their father because he, Sasuke, hadn't bothered to take note of how wretched he was feeling put him in a sombre mood.

"Why?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Don't give me that," Fugaku snapped sharply. "Give the man a day off, Sasuke! He's working himself sick."

"Did you send him home?"

"No," Fugaku said quietly. "Your mother is livid with me for coming back into this place." He paused before shaking his head in correction. "No- she's livid with _you_ for making it so I needed to."

"It isn't my fault Itachi tries to be a walking fucking miracle," Sasuke muttered. "He should have told me how bad he was feeling."

"Would you have listened if he had?"

Sasuke didn't attempt to reply, because they both knew he wouldn't have.

"I told him to take some time and see if he felt up to continuing. If he doesn't, you're to send him back to his hotel to rest and I will stay until six," Fugaku ordered. "The accounts can wait for one night."

Even though Fugaku technically had no hold on the business anymore, Sasuke knew attempting to go against his will was a stupid idea. He simply nodded and made to walk away and leave his father in peace. He faltered only a few steps from the desk, glancing back over his shoulder with a slightly guilty look on his features.

"Where is he?"

"He said he felt sick," Fugaku replied with a shrug. "I doubt he's very far away."

Sasuke nodded and continued his walk, halting at a sharp call from his father. Fugaku rose and walked towards him, every meaningful step making Sasuke feel five years old again and fearing an imminent scolding.

"If you give him a hard time," Fugaku whispered in his ear. "You and I will fall out. Do you understand, Sasuke?"

Sasuke gave him a single, short nod and carried on to the corridor his room was situated, pushing open the door to the bathroom opposite his office. It was his first guess and he had got lucky- Itachi was standing at the sink, cupped hands filled with water as he splashed his face before glancing across to Sasuke.

"You look awful," Sasuke supplied once they'd stared at each other in tense silence.

Itachi didn't dignify him with a response right away, turning to the mirror in front of him instead. His tie was loose around his neck and the top buttons on his shirt were undone, leaving him looking the least professional Sasuke had seen him since he'd arrived back. It took Sasuke back to when they were teenagers again and he pushed it from his mind- those days were gone now.

"You're right," Itachi finally replied as he studied his own reflection. "I _do_ look pretty terrible."

"What's wrong with you?"

Itachi shrugged, pulling himself away from the sink. "It's just nausea. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"If that was the case you wouldn't have called Dad."

Itachi faltered for a moment, turning his eyes to the tiled floor. "I'm stressed," he finally admitted. "That's all. Stress can manifest itself physically sometimes."

In an instant, Sasuke knew why Itachi had been reluctant to bring up the conversation. The admittance could be construed as another victory for Sasuke- though Sasuke felt a little culpable that Itachi had apparently worked out his game and stayed silent about it.

"I'll manage," Itachi told him, brushing past him to open the door. "I just needed some time to get some air and freshen up a little. I'm fine now."

Sasuke followed him, knowing it was a lie but unable to argue about it. He was reluctant to set a foot wrong with their father in the building so he simply trailed Itachi back to his desk and refused to meet Fugaku's eyes.

"Thank you," Itachi said softly, earning a nod and a quick pat on the shoulder from Fugaku before he simply turned to Sasuke to give him a sharp glare, heading out of the sliding door exit without another word moments later.

"Why did you call him?" Sasuke demanded when he was out of sight. "I'd have covered for-"

"No you wouldn't," Itachi cut in. "Yesterday you made it very clear I was lucky to be keeping the five minute lunch break. You made a huge fuss about me leaving for just a few minutes to get water this afternoon."

Sasuke once again had no argument, slinking away back to his own office. A tiny thought in the back of his mind informed him something was going to have to change, but he pushed it away. As much as the brotherly instinct in him wanted to make sure Itachi was alright, the part of him that was still hurting from his abandonment refused to let the issue drop.

-.-.-

Sasuke was thinking. He despised to do so when the subject was his brother, which it had been a lot lately. He hadn't succeeded in convincing Itachi to just _leave_ at six, having his own rules thrown back at him in the form of a passive reminder of the new work hours that had him working until eleven.

For whatever reason, Itachi had migrated to the floor of Sasuke's office with a laptop to work. Sasuke didn't dare ask why, but he didn't halt it either- chances were if he stayed quiet and simply left Itachi to do as he pleased, he might supply the information anyway. Yet it hadn't happened, leaving the room bathed in an uneasy silence and Sasuke with his thoughts.

At least Itachi looked a little healthier. Sasuke had ordered the catering department to send something 'decent' Itachi's way at some point, satisfied when they informed him later they had done as requested and the gesture had been well received. Sasuke was less certain Itachi was actually sick with that knowledge however, and more certain his sibling's explanation earlier about being stressed might have been a veiled admission of said stress instead.

Sasuke also didn't doubt that stress was taking a physical toll because Itachi was working ridiculously long hours, sleeping very little, eating only when Sasuke sent food to his desk and taking a single five minute break in the working day. He mentally choked the overwhelmingly guilty feeling down at the thought, glancing at the clock on the wall behind him instead. It was almost eleven and he was tired- a glance to Itachi told him the same story, so he stood and indicated the door. A few minutes to the hour was close enough for today.

"We should go," he said quietly.

"I'm not done," Itachi muttered, not looking up to meet his eye.

"Come back to it tomorrow."

"Since when did you care?"

Sasuke blinked, unsure what he was referring to. "Care about what?"

"Me."

Sasuke was completely aware he needed to answer that question honestly, and not simply snipe about something less important. He kept quiet for a moment, contemplating what to say when Itachi set the laptop down and pulled himself up, heading to the door without another word.

"You started this conversation," Sasuke snapped. "Finish it."

"I have nothing more to say," Itachi replied calmly, pulling the door open. "I'm not going home and if you're planning on staying, why don't you go and get us something to eat?"

"Don't tell me what to do," Sasuke muttered, glaring at his back. "If you're going to smoke, just do it here."

"I'm not going to break your rules," Itachi declined, holding the door open for Sasuke to pass through. "The last thing I want is to give you more things to hold against me."

They walked in silence through the hall and into the lobby, both downcast though for different reasons. Sasuke left Itachi on the front step to smoke while he headed off down the street in search of some kind of decent takeaway.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the figure of his brother on the steps in the distance. Of course, Itachi clearly wanted space, not food, but that didn't mean Sasuke wasn't going to find something even though he knew his brother would be equally pleased if he returned empty handed.

-.-.-

Returning to the office thirty minutes after leaving with takeaway rice dishes safely stored in a small white bag, Sasuke pushed open his office door and stopped completely dead in the doorway at the sight before him.

Itachi looked momentarily surprised, glancing at the clock before turning his gaze on Sasuke. The action was an unspoken sentiment that he had apparently lost track of time- an idea Sasuke supported since he knew there was no other way Itachi would be sitting on the floor with tears evident on his cheeks otherwise. He was seated against the side of Sasuke's desk, knees curled to his chest with his head leant back against the solid oak and an unreadable expression on his face.

Sasuke blinked, unsure of what to do or say. Within moments he had scaled the length of the room to kneel down next to his brother, opening his mouth to speak the first thing that came to mind.

"You look like a wreck."

Itachi's expression didn't change. "If you don't have any productive comments to make, perhaps you should refrain from making any at all."

"_You_ can't talk about productivity right now."

"Sasuke?" Itachi said questioningly after a few moments pause. "Please be quiet."

He closed his eyes in anguish, tilting his head back to the wood. Sasuke eyed him for half a moment more before getting up and stepping around him, seating himself at his desk and trying to push away the now familiar clutches of guilt.

He had _wanted_ this. Sasuke closed his eyes to the thought, attempting to deny it but unable to do so. He'd wanted Itachi to hurt and here he was, clearly doing so yet it left Sasuke feeling rather like crying himself. He hadn't anticipated that, though a thought in the back of his mind chastised him that he shouldn't be surprised because for all his acting, he loved his brother dearly.

Itachi opened his eyes as he heard an object fall next to him a minute or so later, setting his gaze on a set of chopsticks, which he picked up with a confused frown before glancing around. Sasuke was holding out a red and white rice box, looking out the window in the other direction as Itachi gingerly reached out and took it.

The shared meal was tense and punctured occasionally by tiny hitches of breath from Itachi and a few concerned micro-glances from Sasuke in his direction before Itachi put an end to the charade and set the box aside.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "Excuse me."

He pulled himself to a stand and headed from the room, closing the door as he went and leaving Sasuke to attempt to quash the crushing feeling that came with his departure. He couldn't- instead it had him rise and race across the room, slamming the door open and jogging a few steps down the hall, grabbing his brother's arm to halt him.

Itachi didn't turn around and Sasuke could feel through their contact that he was shaking, forcing himself to say the words he had been struggling to voice.

"You're worrying me."

"Oh?" Itachi murmured, glancing over his shoulder just slightly to lock eyes. "You're worried _now_?"

"I know, I'm an asshole sometimes," Sasuke admitted, breaking their eye contact hastily so he wouldn't have to acknowledge the tears in the other's eyes. "I hate you for leaving, but I don't hate you because you're my brother."

The unspoken 'I'm sorry' on his tone rang out through the air, but it wasn't voiced and therefore wasn't reacted to. Itachi simply pulled his arm free and continued his walk down the hall, holding a hand up silently to Sasuke to stay where he was.

Sasuke watched him retreat for a few moments before heading back into his office, collapsing into his chair and eyeing the phone in front of him. How did he deal with this? Did he call their father and admit he'd upset what Sasuke had always deemed as the favourite child in the family? He shook his head to the thought, lighting a cigarette instead. He'd do what he always did- pretend nothing was wrong and wait for it all to rectify itself.

When Itachi returned about five minutes later, he looked a little less upset- droplets of water clung around the edges of his hairline, dampening it in such a manner it indicated to Sasuke that he'd dunked his head underwater instead of using the normal method someone might after crying, which was simply just washing the tears from their face. Uchihas didn't do things by halves, after all.

Itachi set himself back on the floor and grabbed the neglected rice box once more before speaking, his voice once again set to its usual tone. "I've been checking the figures and working over some numbers," he admitted quietly. "This isn't fixable in its current state."

Sasuke mulled the piece of information over for a while, any inkling to make a rude comment about his brother's ability- or inability- swept away by the tears he had witnessed. "I appreciate you trying," he finally agreed on saying. "Even if I've been a jerk about things."

"I'm used to you being a jerk," Itachi joked mildly. "You needn't apologise for that."

"Take tomorrow off."

"Not a chance," Itachi replied swiftly. "I'm going to work something out, don't worry. I just need time and I worry I won't have enough."

"You worry about too much."

"You don't worry about enough. Someone has to, right?"

"Don't destroy yourself to save me," Sasuke told him, unable to keep the hint of pleading from his voice. "You have a life in Spain to go back to. It doesn't matter to you."

"Of course it matters to me," Itachi argued. "You're my brother. It's Dad's business. It matters to me."

"It's my business now."

"It _was_ his," Itachi shrugged, looking irked at the pedantic comment. "And it would still be his if he was able to. It would be mine if I hadn't left. I don't wish to sound rude, but you were the last choice."

"That _is_ rude."

"Then forgive me. But- you understand how terrible the accounts look, don't you?"

Sasuke turned his gaze to the worn table, tracing marks beneath his fingertips as he spoke. "Yes."

"For the record, I don't have a life in Spain to go back to. I gave up my job, remember? I'm going to get a copy of my keys cut and mail them to a friend, then pay his ticket to come over with my stuff."

"Where are you going to live?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'll find somewhere. I can't keep living in hotels."

The words added another layer of guilt to Sasuke- in his temper he hadn't even thought to offer his sibling a place to stay. "You can come and stay with me."

"Sasuke," Itachi laughed. "You and I both know we don't mesh well under the same roof. I see enough of you here for us to clash, let alone living together."

"Why would you give up that life for me?" Sasuke asked quietly. "All I've done is make life hard for you when you've given up everything to help."

"Sasuke," Itachi replied firmly. "Don't question me, alright? You know the answer."

No more words were exchanged and the meal was finished in silence. Sasuke once again indicated the time and Itachi allowed himself to be walked out of the office without complaint- besides, the younger Uchiha had physically taken the laptop Itachi had been trying to work on away and pushed him towards the door, leaving him little choice.

Once they were out on the pavement and ready to part their separate ways, Sasuke held a hand up to halt Itachi before he could turn and leave.

"I know I haven't been very nice to you," he admitted. He opened his mouth a few more times, faltering on what he wanted to say before finally settling on something he knew he should have said a long time ago. "I'm sorry."

Itachi gave him a kind smile and shrugged. "No problem," he replied, and he genuinely seemed to mean it. Sasuke glanced up at the darkened night sky with a sigh, feeling like he was luckiest person on the planet right then. Itachi had every right to fling his apology right back at his face and then some, but he didn't and would never dream of doing so.

Without thinking he reached out and grabbed his brother in a quick embrace, squeezing him and letting him go in one smooth motion.

"Get some sleep," he near-demanded. "Come in tomorrow at eight."

To his credit, Itachi didn't attempt to fight the decision. "Alright," he acknowledged softly, his breath visible on the cool night air. "Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Night."

They turned and headed their separate ways, Sasuke halting at the sound of his mobile phone beeping to inform him of a text message only a minute later. Confused, he pulled it from his pocket and opened the message from his brother.

It read simply 'te quiero', leaving Sasuke to smile- _really_ smile- and once again consider just how fortunate he was to be born into the family that he had been. Uchihas may not have been most people's idyllic idea of a family unit, but Sasuke would have it absolutely no other way.

-.-.-

_/ I swear sometimes you are / so hard on me cause I'm not everything / that you want me to be / I'm so sorry / I didn't want you to see me this way / I'm so sorry / I didn't mean to fall from grace /_

-.-.-

_Author's Note: Whoops. It seemed people thought Sasuke was going to be nice after the elevator incident- sorry! I hope I made up for him continuing to be an asshole if you were expecting something different :)_

_The Epilogue is done- if you're catching this as I post it, it will be up very shortly. If you aren't, then it should already be there. Thank you for reading so far! Lyrics are Pussycat Dolls- Halo. It was so damned perfect._


	6. Epilogue

_/ (as I lie stuck in my bed) / when I say / I'm losing my / (you made me reach the edge of) /  
/ sanity / (sanity) / _

**Epilogue**

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke glanced up from his computer and fixed his gaze on his brother in the doorway. He didn't say a word, keeping the smile that wanted to creep up away when he spotted what Itachi had in his hands.

"What's this?"

Itachi was holding out a bottle of water. Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow and indicated at it as though his brother was mentally deficient.

"It's a bottle of water, Itachi."

Itachi shook it a couple of times for emphasis. "It's the third bottle of water to land itself on my desk this morning from the catering department and I've only been here a couple of hours. What are you trying to do?"

Sasuke finally freed the smile he had been suppressing. "Are you drinking them?"

"Yes?"

"Then you must need them," Sasuke concluded. "Get back to work."

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed, leaning one hand on the doorframe. "Please stop attempting to mother me. I survived before and I'll continue to do so without you attempting to look out for me."

"No, your original regime lead to a breakdown on my office floor," Sasuke pointed out bluntly. "Go on, get to your desk."

Itachi did so, unsurprised when Sasuke followed so they could continue the conversation. The night before had clearly shaken the younger Uchiha and he had spent most of his time so far that morning constantly checking on Itachi and trying to make up his shameful behaviour. Itachi had made it quite clear he handled pressure just fine usually so Sasuke should just leave him be, but he hadn't complained at his midday break being extended to thirty minutes.

Sasuke would never admit it, but while he'd been _trying_ to get Itachi to snap the fact it had actually happened was awfully disconcerting and he never wanted it to happen again. On top of that, he certainly didn't want to be the cause if it did. The feeling had manifested itself into almost an almost obsessive compulsion to make sure his brother was as happy as possible.

As he had mentally noted once before, Uchihas didn't do things by halves. Yesterday he had been the world's biggest asshole by his own definition, and today he wanted to be the world's biggest saint.

Well- the biggest saint besides his brother, of course.

"I think I have a solution," Itachi told him once Sasuke was seated on the edge of his desk. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in interest, and let him continue. "I have some savings. If I put them-"

"No."

"_Listen_," Itachi sighed. "I've worked it out and I wouldn't offer if I wasn't confident it would work. I've indentified what you were doing wrong and I've rectified it as much as possible- you'll need to make a couple more job cuts, but other than that I can stabilise things. I can't make enough to get us out of the debt fast enough though, which is where my funds come in. I can take them back later if you really care."

Sasuke wanted to say no once more, but he quieted the thought. He hated the idea- positively _loathed_ it in fact, but he knew if Itachi was suggesting it then there probably was no other choice.

"Alright," he agreed quietly. "If you're certain it'll work."

"Positive," Itachi nodded, looking instantly brighter at the thought. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"Why the fuck are you thanking me?" Sasuke muttered with a heavy sigh. "You always do this!"

Itachi looked genuinely taken aback. "You could have said no, that's why."

"Then I'd be a moron."

Itachi gave him a tiny, coy smile. "I thought we established you are sometimes."

Sasuke conceded that line of reasoning, sobering after a moment and casting his eyes to the floor. "Itachi? Why did you continue to try and help me when it was obvious I was just trying to make life hard for you?"

"Because that's what you do," Itachi shrugged simply. "You've always been that way with me, so why should this be any different? You're proud and you don't like help- I understand that."

"But if you'd walked away, this would have collapsed."

"I didn't walk away," Itachi pointed out. "And I wouldn't have until it ended one way or another. I'd have kept trying."

"Because you wanted to save the company?"

"Not really," Itachi admitted. "Because I wanted to save _you_. I'm your superhero, remember?"

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed in a whisper, pushing himself off of Itachi's desk to head to his office once more, glancing over his shoulder for a second to finish his sentence. "Something like that."

When he was safely out of ear shot, he smiled to himself and mouthed a 'thank you' that couldn't be heard. Regardless, Itachi knew it had been at least thought as he watched his brother retreat, and that was good enough for him.

-.-.-

_/ what I gave you was never enough / "oh dear I'm sure you'll understand there was a setback, but / wait a few weeks it would be good as it can ever be" /_

-.-.-

_Author's Note: And it is done! :) This was fun. I love writing this dynamic. Lyrics this time are The Electric Diorama- Oh Dear, Now I'm Sure I Hate You._

_Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and hopefully enjoying!_


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